This Neuroscientist's Brain Upgrade Makes AI 70% Cheaper episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 12, 2026 · 43 MIN

This Neuroscientist's Brain Upgrade Makes AI 70% Cheaper

from Thought Liters · host Adam Conner

The AI energy and compute arms race is completely unsustainable. Companies are burning billions of dollars on hardware to run artificial intelligence, and they are all using the exact same foundational building block from 1943: the artificial neuron.Today, Dr. Rorry Brenner, neuroscientist and CEO of Perforated AI, reveals why AI desperately needs a "brain upgrade." Rorry breaks down how introducing biological dendritic technology—essentially the "brain of the neuron"—can make AI models run twice as fast while making them 70% cheaper to operate.In this episode, we cover:-- Why the 80-year-old artificial neuron is driving compute costs through the roof.-- The "Brain Upgrade": What dendritic technology actually is and how it works.-- How to cut your AI compute and hardware costs by 70% without losing accuracy.-- The difference between "raising the ceiling" (better accuracy) and "lowering the floor" (cheaper compute).-- How making AI cheaper will democratize the industry and enable offline edge computing.-- The massive environmental benefits of moving away from electricity-guzzling server farms.00:00 Introduction: Why AI Compute is So Expensive01:47 Welcome Dr. Rorry Brenner & The AI Hardware Arms Race07:06 The "Brain Upgrade": What is a Dendrite?08:46 The Metaphor: An Army of Toddlers vs. A Team of Adults11:14 Lowering the Floor: Making Compute Cheaper15:30 How Perforated AI is Bringing Dendrites to Market22:00 Real-World Impact: Cutting AI Costs by 70%27:11 Will This Solve the AI Hype Cycle Decline?31:23 Democratizing AI and The Future of Edge Computing34:07 Lightning Round38:31 The Green AI Future & Last CallWHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 12, 2026

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This Neuroscientist's Brain Upgrade Makes AI 70% Cheaper

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